Frequent visitors to our village

Frequent visitors to Renaissance are banded mongoose. 

Apart from the Limpopo Bushveld these charming animals are commonly found in the central and eastern parts of Africa.

They feed primarily on beetles and millipedes. However, other prey includes frogs, lizards, small snakes, ground bird and the eggs of both birds and reptiles. They become a nuisance when fed by humans.

Mongoose love eggs

Banded mongoose forage in groups but each member searches for food alone. They forage in the morning for several hours and then rest in the shade. They will usually forage again in the late afternoon. Mongoose use their sense of smell to locate their prey and dig them out with their long claws, both in holes in the ground and holes in trees. Low grunts are produced every few seconds for communication.
 

Mongoose colony foraging

Banded mongoose females produce large communal litters which remain in dens for 3–4 weeks. When pups emerge from the den, they spend 3–5 days approaching different helpers, after which individual pups form stable associations with a single adult helper (their ‘‘escort’’) and remain associated with that animal until independence (approximately 9–13 weeks).

Mongoose pup and "escort"

During a foraging session, pups follow escorts closely, begging constantly with a high-pitched, bird-like chirp.

Banded mongoose live in mixed-sex groups of 7–40 individuals (average around 20). Groups sleep together at night in underground dens, often abandoned termite mounds, and change dens frequently (every 2–3 days). When no refuge is available and hard-pressed by predators, the group will form a compact arrangement in which they lie on each other with heads facing outwards and upwards.



Mongoose often live in abandoned termite mounds

There is generally no strict hierarchy in mongoose groups and aggression is low. Sometimes, mongoose may squabble over a food. However, typically, the one who claims the food first, wins. Most aggression and hierarchical behavior occurs between males when females are in oestrus. Females are usually not aggressive but do live in hierarchies based on age.

An aggressive mongoose male

When groups get too large, some females are forced out of the group by either older females or males. These females may form new groups with subordinate males.

Relations between groups are highly aggressive and mongoose are sometimes killed and injured during intergroup encounters. Nevertheless, breeding females will often mate with males from a rival groups during fights. 

Mongoose establish their territories with scent markings that may also serve as communication between those in the same group.

In the society of the banded mongoose there is a clear separation between mating rivals and territorial rivals. Individuals within groups are rivals for mates while those from neighboring groups are competitors for food and resources.

In some locations banded mongoose have been found in close relationship with baboons. They forage together and probably enjoy greater security as a large group because of more eyes on the lookout for predators. The mongoose are handled by baboons of all ages and show no fear of such contact.

Source
Wikipedia (click HERE to access)